A homeless man turned his nose up at £1,300 in donations and free offers of accommodation because he would have to abandon his cat.

Brian Simmonds, 56, snubbed a kind-hearted campaign launched by mother-of-two Chloe-May Mouland to get him a place to live - despite sleeping rough on the streets of Chichester.

He had sparked an outpouring of generosity after he was spotted living in a makeshift camp in woodland by the side of a main road with his beloved cat Lily.

Brian Simmonds, 56, turned his nose up at £1,300 in donations and free offers of accommodation because he would have to abandon his cat

An online plea made by Ms Mouland, 23, touched people's hearts and soon over £1,000 was raised in a desperate effort to get him a home before Christmas.

She spent weeks searching for a suitable property for the rough sleeper, receiving a number of offers of accommodation from letting agents, the council and even private landlords offering to put him up for free.

But Mr Simmonds, a former electrician, refused to live anywhere that wasn't a one bed, ground floor, pet friendly flat in Midhurst, West Sussex.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

He even turned his nose up a top floor flat with the same specification because he couldn't let Lily out of the window to play.

Ms Mouland, from Chichester in West Sussex, has now been forced to offer people their donations back - and will be giving any excess to homeless charity Stone Pillow.

She said: 'Unfortunately he only wanted a one bed ground floor flat with some sort of garden, which also accepted animals, and would be within his housing benefit budget - these houses are very rare.

'He didn't seem to want to help himself, and there are only so many days you can spend trying to convince someone to accept a house before it is rented out.

'I feel the only person who can help Brian is Brian himself.'

The rough sleeper has also been offered two homes by Chichester District Council but turned them down because there was no bank nearby - and claims his resilience has become a campaign against the system.

Mr Simmonds said that he was 'sticking it out' sleeping rought because he was locked in a battle with Chichester District Council to 'change the system'

He said: 'I am sticking this out until the council find me somewhere in Midhurst.

'This has become a campaign to change the system and the way authorities handle homeless people.

'I am sticking up for all the people worse off than me.'

Ms Mouland added on the fundraising page: 'He says he's more determined than ever to see his battle out with Chichester District Council as he feels he's been treated wrongly.

'He will only accept a one bed ground floor flat in Midhurst town centre and pretty much only off the council, and if they do discharge him he's going to cause all uproar and get certain people sacked.

'Nothing would have made me happier than to see him in a warm house of his own with Lily and to start a new chapter of his life.

'I wish him the very best and I know donations given to the charity will be well used on people who truly need them.'